


Neon Lights

by RobinWritesChirps



Series: Starkid Quarantine [4]
Category: Firebringer - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coronavirus, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Oh my god they were quarantined, Quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25265506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinWritesChirps/pseuds/RobinWritesChirps
Summary: From a prompt I got on Tumblr: Neon lights at 1:30 am.Jemilla comforts Zazzalil who is feeling anxious about the weight of the world becoming sick.
Relationships: Jemilla/Zazzalil (Firebringer)
Series: Starkid Quarantine [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695739
Comments: 19
Kudos: 30





	Neon Lights

**Author's Note:**

> In my defense I started this fic in like April.

The meaning of words had gradually changed and faded into nothingness. Even with the occasional online lecture, Monday felt like Thursday felt like Saturday and morning and night were one and the same when all hours of the day were spent in the same small abode together. The one constant was the anxiety for the state of the world, always followed by guilt, for they had so much less cause to worry than the less fortunate. Zazzalil stopped pacing and sank into the bed for the twelfth time of the night. Maybe this one would be the last. At her loud groan, Jemilla passed a soothing hand over the crook of her back.

"You okay, babe?"

Zazzalil painfully turned over to her side. Scooting over, she pushed herself into the embrace Jemilla offered, buried her face into her neck.

"I'm bored," she whimpered and felt the chuckle at Jemilla's lips in the fluff of her loose hair. "I'm tired, but I can't sleep."

She wrapped her arms around Jemilla's shoulders, if nothing else comforted by the warmth of her lover so close to her. Jemilla pressed a leg between hers, kissed the top of her head. She had showered just before bed but that had been hours ago and her curls were bouncy with having air dried. Outside, the street was flickering with the bright neon lights of shops that had been closed for four weeks. Yellow, white, pink lights were their companions day in, day out, partners of quarantine. They hadn’t exactly been picky on location when the dorms had thrown them out and they had urgently needed a place to stay. A tiny nothing of a studio, but it was clean and it was a roof over their heads for a cheap price. That was always something.

"And I miss Keeri and I feel like I'm just never gonna see her again," she went on. Her voice was muffled against Jemilla's skin and she felt it very hot under her lips, but Jemilla only squeezed her closer. "And I keep wanting to cough cause it gets dusty staying trapped in here all day but I'm afraid that I'm gonna give myself the virus if I open my lungs too much."

She knew that wasn't how it worked, she knew Jemilla knew that even better, clever and knowledgeable as she was, but in this moment Jemilla's heart was taking over her intelligent brain and the touch of her hands was a tranquilizer in massage form on Zazzalil's back. Every day the news had been confirming a growing number of cases in their city. Emberly was still recovering and Tiblyn kept pestering them with texts on how to handle Grunt in her absence. Jemilla had coerced Molag into self-quarantine through emotional blackmail, Chorn and Smelly were as good as gone from the surface of the earth if it weren't for their thriving YouTube channel letting the world know how well they had prepped. Ducker was sending thoughts and prayers every morning, Schwoopsie was sending jokes in the hope to distract. It didn’t.

"Better here than out there," Jemilla said. "I don’t want you to get dirty glances when we’re out."

Zazzalil nodded lazily, reluctantly. She hated how much she had stayed inside the past month, how unnatural yet necessary. She hated the thought, too, to dare to feel bad about something so simple for the greater good. Jemilla understood, though. Jemilla always knew her by heart.

"We’re never out anyways," she sighed. "I hate being stuck here, I haven’t seen a tree in weeks."

Jemilla comforted, Jemilla soothed, Jemilla took pity. Her hands were roaming Zazzalil’s back ever more attentively, yet she still felt stiff and too alert despite the late hour. A hand slid down to squeeze her butt and despite it all, no matter the frustration and the overwhelming doom filling her up a bit more every day, Zazzalil still snorted.

"I guess I don’t mind being stuck here _with you,_ " Jemilla said.

Zazzalil looked up at her, neon lights across her face making a funny tangle of shapes and shadows, like a painting from a time Zazzalil knew too little about. When she calmed down, she might make that yet another quarantine project, studying art history. Better than anxiety, probably. She liked Jemilla’s face more in the sunlight, the way she was supposed to be. Or perhaps she liked Jemilla’s face whichever way at all.

"I love you," Zazzalil muttered without knowing why.

"I love you too, babe," Jemilla replied within a heartbeat, and perhaps she knew why this mattered.

Her fingers combed gently through Zazzalil’s hair. She hadn’t washed them in days, nor had she showered today, but Jemilla was giving her a pass on these things now. There were moments for scolding and moments for compassion. They kissed. Zazzalil could have lost herself in every kiss Jemilla gave her these days, so much she needed them.

"If anything, this just proves we were right," Jemilla said in a soft voice. Her hand cupped Zazzalil’s face gently and she pressed another kiss at her lips. "We’re much better off together."

Zazzalil smirked, if only faintly.

"As opposed to what?" She teased. "Hissing at each other all day long?"

She loved the smile Jemilla gave her, how it lit up her whole face now bathed in neon pink.

"I’ve got better things to do all day long," Jemilla said, all sass and confidence as she pulled Zazzalil on top of her to be straddled.

"That’s one perk of quarantine."

They kissed, Jemilla’s hands on Zazzalil’s butt to keep her close above her. From anywhere at all, she looked so pretty, but it was a rare sight to be looking down at her from up here and Zazzalil made sure to bask in it. When they parted again, she thought she saw the tip of Jemilla’s tongue lick her lip, but it was gone before she could be certain.

"It’ll be over," Jemilla promised. "I don’t know when, I can’t say, but they’ll find _something_ , a vaccine or so, and we’ll feel safe again."

"This too shall pass…"

Zazzalil was cuddling into her again, nestling herself a cozy spot and if she was crushing Jemilla, then she would just have to be forgiven for it, as she had no intention of moving so soon.

"And then I’ll take you anywhere you want and you’ll check off every last fucking thing on that bucket list you were working on."

"Oh, I don’t think you’re ready for all of them, J-Mills."

Jemilla chuckled. She pulled the covers over them, enveloping Zazzalil in a little comfortable cocoon just the two of them.

"That’s how I’ll die, then," she joked, for she knew that laughter was a medicine Zazzalil took very dearly. "At least it’ll be with you."

They laughed together, though Zazzalil wanted to cry a little. Nuzzling Jemilla’s neck, it was even less and when she felt fingertips massaging the back of her neck with the determined purpose to soothe, the urge was gone entirely. She relaxed for the first time in days.

"To the end of quarantine, then," she said. "In however fucking long that is. To dying in a dumb reckless accident and not from coughing our lungs out."

The feel of Jemilla’s arms around her was a lullaby and Zazzalil was more peaceful with every breath between them. Jemilla kissed her temple and whispered against her ear.

"I’m not letting you do either, babe," she said. "I’m keeping you here with me forever and ever."

Zazzalil nodded. Very little of the world made sense to her anymore, her days were nothing like they had used to be and she was anxiously frantic with the new freedom given to her − and the restrictions like nothing before. There was some meaning, though, still to be found in Jemilla’s embrace.

"Then I’m not going anywhere," she replied and closed her eyes to fall asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments!!!


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